This post may contains affiliate links which means I may receive a commission from purchases made through links. Learn more from affiliate policy page.
Table of Contents
Does SimpliSafe announce door open? No, SimpliSafe Base Station currently cannot announce the name of the opened door or window.
When I installed my new SimpliSafe system, I wondered if it could actually tell me which door was opened.
I envisioned clear alerts saying “the front door was opened” instead of just generic sensor notifications that didn’t differentiate entry points.
Since I had young kids, I really wanted to monitor when exterior doors were accessed for safety reasons.
Unfortunately, I quickly learned SimpliSafe sensors don’t automatically recognize and announce specific doors.
However, with some customization, you can set up decent door opening alerts.
Let me explain the options to help you better understand SimpliSafe’s capabilities around door monitoring and notifications.
Does SimpliSafe Announce Door Open?
The SimpliSafe Base Station currently cannot announce the name of the opened door or window.
It can only produce a door chime or a simple beep when an entry sensor is opened, but it does not announce the specific sensor’s name.
Many users have requested this feature, but as of now, it is not available.
What Kind of Open-Door Alerts Does SimpliSafe Offer?
SimpliSafe has a few different options for letting you know when a door has been opened while your system is armed or disarmed:
- Entry sensors detect when a door or window is opened. You can place discreet SimpliSafe entry sensors on doors you want to monitor.
- The SimpliSafe base station can make announcements when the system is triggered. This includes naming the type of sensor, but not the specific door.
- Chimes sound whenever a protected entryway is opened.
- Voice alerts can play to notify you of system activity like door openings.
Entry Sensor Alerts For Open Doors
SimpliSafe’s affordable and slim entry sensors are designed to stick onto a door or window frame to detect when it opens.
For example, putting an entry sensor on your front door allows you to get phone notifications when that door is opened. This works whether your system is armed or disarmed.
By default, opening a door with an entry sensor also triggers activity chimes from the SimpliSafe base station.
So entry sensors give basic open door alerts. But they don’t specifically announce which door was opened. The base station needs additional configuration to name specific doors.
Base Station Announcements Of Open Doors
SimpliSafe’s latest base stations have built-in mics and speakers to enable features like voice control. They also make system announcements you can customize.
For example, the SimpliSafe app lets you record a name for each of your entry sensors.
Then when that sensor is activated, the base station can announce that custom name.
So if you name your front door sensor “front door”, the base station will say something like “Front door open” when it’s triggered.
This provides more customizable verbal alerts compared to the entry sensors alone.
But the limitation is still having to manually name each sensor differently. There is no automated recognition of which specific door was opened.
Chimes And Voice Prompts For Open Doors
In addition to mobile alerts, SimpliSafe uses chimes and pre-recorded voice prompts to notify you at home when doors open or other system events occur.
When you have the SimpliSafe smartphone app open, you’ll get instant push notifications whenever a sensor is activated.
But loud chimes and voice alerts ensure you also know activity is happening when you don’t have your phone in hand.
For entry events like open doors and windows, the default is to sound activity chimes.
The base station may also play a general voice alert like “System triggered” without specifics.
In the SimpliSafe app settings, you can enable more detailed voice announcements. For instance calling out “Entry sensor name” when that particular sensor is faulted.
So between chimes and voice prompts, you have auditory cues at home. But the base station itself doesn’t differentiate which specific door open unless you manually configure custom names per sensor.
Customizing Your Open-Door Notifications
Out of the box, SimpliSafe provides basic open entry alerts. But how do you set it up to actually name which door was opened?
Let’s explore how to customize door opening notifications.
Setting Up Door Open Announcements
To make your SimpliSafe base station specifically announce which door is open, follow this process when setting up entry sensors:
- Place a unique entry sensor on each exterior door you want to monitor.
- In the SimpliSafe mobile app, click on each sensor.
- Customize the name for each sensor to match the door. For example “Front door”, “Back door”, “Garage door”, etc.
- Enable the setting for “Announce faulted sensor”.
- The base station will now announce that custom name when each door opens while armed.
So with this door open announcement setting activated, your SimpliSafe system will call out the specific door’s name that triggered an entry sensor.
Just keep in mind this relies on properly naming each sensor, since SimpliSafe doesn’t automatically know which door is which.
Choosing A Door Open Chime or Voice Alert
In addition to mobile alerts, you can set up chimes or voice announcements when your doors open while home.
Here are the options available for local door opening notifications in the SimpliSafe app:
- Activity chimes – Turn on chimes for faulted entry sensors. This will make a chime noise when doors and windows are opened.
- Voice alerts – Enable the “Announce faulted sensor” voice prompt setting to play sensor names out loud.
- Mute – Disable chimes and voice alerts when doors open to silence notifications.
The choice comes down to personal preference. Chimes ensure you hear activity but aren’t disruptive. Voice alerts provide clearer announcements, but some find them annoying over time.
I prefer to leave chimes enabled so I’m notified of any system events. Then voice alerts are handy when I’m not actively using my phone.
Enabling Warnings For Doors Open At Arming
A useful alert option is getting warned if a door is still open while arming your SimpliSafe system to away mode.
This prevents accidentally setting the alarm without realizing an entryway was left ajar.
In the SimpliSafe app, go to Settings > Events > Faulted sensor when arming. Toggle this on to activate open sensor warnings when arming the system.
Now whenever you arm your system with the app or keypad, you’ll get an instant error message if there are any open doors or windows.
This acts as a helpful safeguard so you can secure any entryways before the exit countdown ends.
Having physical sensors on doors allows SimpliSafe to warn about actual opened doors unlike security cameras alone which may have blindspots.
Third-Party Devices for Enhanced Door Monitoring
SimpliSafe’s first-party sensors provide great coverage for monitoring door openings. But you can expand capabilities by integrating smart home devices.
Integrations with Smart Locks
Connecting to a smart lock brand like SimpliSafe Smart Lock gives more detailed door status information.
In addition to knowing if the door itself is ajar, the smart lock reports whether or not it’s locked or unlocked. This gives you the full picture of door activity.
For instance, the system can announce “Front door unlocked” when someone forgets to lock it. Or warn if the door is left unlocked while arming the system.
This integration requires SimpliSafe’s latest hardware. But it showcases the potential for more intelligent alerts based on additional sensors.
Smart Speakers to Announce Alerts
SimpliSafe has integrations with smart speakers like Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant.
This allows voice assistants to announce system events out loud as an alternative to the SimpliSafe base station.
Smart speakers provide louder, whole-home audio coverage. So alerts like “Your front door is open” can be heard clearly no matter what room you’re in.
To set this up, connect your SimpliSafe account in the Amazon Alexa or Google Home app. Then enable announcements for system events.
Now when doors open or other security events happen, your Echo or Nest speakers will announce them. Acting as amplifiers for notifications.
Additional Sensors and Cameras
For even more protection, adding extra SimpliSafe sensors can provide early motion warnings in case unwanted visitors get inside after opening a door quietly.
Indoor SimpliSafe motion sensors provide backups that will trigger alerts if someone continues walking beyond the entryway.
Giving warnings faster versus waiting until they reach another protected entry sensor deeper inside the premises.
Meanwhile, SimpliSafe cameras give visual verification whenever doors open. Letting you check the video feed to see who is entering and inspect activity.
If an opened door doesn’t result in motion alerts, you can replay camera footage watching exactly what happened after the door opened.
Layering multiples sensors creates redundancy. While also giving more confidence through video evidence backing up each event.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Very customizable open door alerts | Manual sensor naming without automated recognition |
| Specific voice announcements for each door | Extra cost for multiple entry sensors |
| Warnings if door open when arming system | Limited to 12 entry sensors per system |
| Motion sensor backups | Storage fees for continuous recording |
| Video verification of events | Blindspots if camera placement incomplete |
Adding layers of additional entry, motion and camera sensors enhances protection.
But costs add up, from equipment prices to video storage fees. Determine the right level of alerts and sensors for your budget and needs. SimpliSafe’s detection flexibility allows balancing utility and affordability.
Getting More Advanced Door Open Alerts in the Future
While SimpliSafe already provides flexible options to notify you about open doors, there is room for improvement.
As home automation advances, we could see smarter door alerts coming down the road.
SimpliSafe Considering Updates to Base Station Announcements
SimpliSafe frequently pushes software updated to expand capabilities over time. There have been lots of requests for the latest base station models to get more advanced with customized announcements.
Right now, SimpliSafe support agents report that engineers are considering ways to make door opening alerts smarter.
This includes possibly having the base station automatically differentiate specific doors that were opened based on the entry sensors without requiring manually naming each one differently.
Over-the-air software updates could enable enhanced awareness of door events to say exactly which door was faulted right out of the box without complicated setup.
While SimpliSafe hasn’t provided an exact timeline for improvements yet, the company is known for releasing regular feature enhancements.
So future base station firmware updates may surprise us with smarter alerts.
Possible Features Like Recognition of Specific Open Door
What would truly intelligent door opening alerts look like? The dream situation that SimpliSafe users have proposed is having the true capability to automatically detect and announce the specific door that was opened.
Engineers hypothesize this could potentially be enabled by adding extra sensors and processing.
For example, placing vibration sensors near doors paired with machine learning algorithms that “learn” the vibration patterns when each door opens to differentiate them.
This would finally allow the system to know on its own which door was opened rather than relying on human-defined custom names per sensor. Then announce the details automatically without any special configuration.
While likely still years away from becoming reality, intelligent sensor fusion and Ai recognition could make it happen one day. Offering the ultimate door opening alerts.
Predictions for Smarter Detection and Notifications
What seems more viable in the nearer future is enhancements to SimpliSafe’s detection flexibility for open door alerts.
Instead of completely automatic door identification, SimpliSafe may soon allow configuring different chime tones or voice prompt recordings for each sensor.
This could let you customize a specific chime or message for “Front door” versus “Garage door” without renaming the sensors themselves.
There also may be options down the road like setting schedules for when certain doors are expected to open and only notify you outside those time windows.
Or integrating geofencing where your location dictates which doors triggering alerts when you’re home vs away.
While the specifics are still speculative, the overall arc is clear – SimpliSafe continually upgrades abilities over time. So smarter recognition and notifications for open doors seem inevitable.
Troubleshooting Door Open Notification Issues
While SimpliSafe offers flexible door opening alerts, you might run into issues like sensors falsely reporting doors ajar or the base station failing to announce when doors open.
Let’s explore some troubleshooting tips.
What To Do If Sensor Shows Falsely Open Door
Entry sensors are convenient for monitoring door status. But occasionally they provide false alarms showing a door continuously open when it’s physically shut. This can be frustrating and cause you to ignore real alerts.
If your SimpliSafe system indicates a door open but you confirm it’s actually closed, try these troubleshooting steps:
- Check sensor positioning and realign it if bumped out of alignment.
- Replace low entry sensor batteries causing faulty operation.
- Clean the sensor and door contact point in case dirt is interrupting detection.
- Toggle the sensor in the SimpliSafe app to refresh connection.
- As a last resort, contact SimpliSafe Support to request replacement.
Usually adjusting or replacing entry sensors resolves any misleading door open statuses.
But SimpliSafe Support can send you new sensors if needed since these things happen.
Fixes When Base Station Doesn’t Announce Opens
You might have door opening announcements enabled, but notice the SimpliSafe base station failing to call them out audibly at times.
If your base station skips voice alerts for open doors and windows, try these tips:
- Check the Announce Faulted Sensor setting is still on.
- Increase base station volume in case announcements are too quiet.
- Move the base station closer to doors to ensure it detects signals.
- Disable and re-enable announcements to refresh connection.
- Contact support if consistently happening for replacement.
With consistent WiFi connectivity to sensors, announcements should fire reliably. But occasionally glitches happen or range is limited. A quick reset typically fixes things.
Resetting and Adjusting Placement of Entry Sensors
As discussed above, positioning entry sensors properly is key for accurate door open detection.
If you move doors around or the sensor alignment gets bumped, you may lose notifications when that door opens.
Refer to SimpliSafe’s guides on ideal entry sensor placement. Usually about 4-6 feet off the ground with no obstructions between the sensor and base station is best.
Test by opening doors when disarmed after adjusting placement to confirm notifications are working properly from all locations. Catching any consistency issues early.
FAQs
Can You Make Simplisafe Say What Door Is Open?
Yes, SimpliSafe can announce which specific door is open when entry sensors are triggered. Here’s how to set it up:
- Place SimpliSafe entry sensors on each exterior door you want to monitor.
- In the SimpliSafe app, name each sensor for the matching door (e.g. “Front Door”).
- Turn on the setting “Announce faulted sensor” under the sensor settings.
- When that entry sensor is now triggered by opening the door, your SimpliSafe base station will announce the custom name.
So with door sensors uniquely named in the system, you’ll hear spoken alerts specifying which door is being opened.
What Security System Announces Which Door Is Open?
Besides SimpliSafe, other smart security systems like Abode, Vivint, and ADT also offer customizable announcements for door opening sensors.
For example, Abode’s system lets you record voice names per sensor that will play when tripped.
Vivint door and window sensors have LED names you enroll for verbal announcements.
And ADT mobile apps can be configured to announce specific points of entry.
SimpliSafe stands out with its affordability and wide range of sensor options. But other providers give similar functionality for aware home monitoring if you don’t mind paying their higher equipment costs and monthly fees.
Why Does SimpliSafe Say “Entry Sensor Open”?
If your SimpliSafe system alerts you with just generic “Entry sensor open” messages, it likely means you haven’t renamed the individual sensors to match your actual door names.
By default, SimpliSafe just identifies sensor types without specifics. Customizing names in the settings makes alerts refer to your “Front door” etc for clearer notifications that differentiate doors.
How Do You Turn On The Door Chime On SimpliSafe?
To make SimpliSafe chime or speak audible alerts when entry sensors are faulted by opening doors/windows:
- Open the SimpliSafe app and go to System Settings.
- Tap Status Chimes & Warnings.
- Under Sensor Warnings, turn on “Chime” and/or “Speak fault description”.
- Now your system will chime, announce sensor names, or both when doors open.
Adjust volumes and customize voices under App Settings > Notifications.
What Is Secret Mode On SimpliSafe?
Secret mode, also called private guard or discreet mode, is a temporary way to disable SimpliSafe monitoring and alerts visibility.
It allows you to essentially put the system in standby for a period of time. This disables sensor alerts and Turns off app notifications.
Useful if you need privacy and don’t want monitoring activity for part of the day, have guests staying on-site
Key Takeaways
SimpliSafe has great flexibility when it comes to notifications for opened doors and entryways.
While not as advanced as standalone smart locks, the capabilities fit common needs to know when doors open both while home or away.
Some key takeaways around SimpliSafe’s current open door alerts:
- Get mobile alerts from entry sensors when doors open
- Name entry sensors to announce specific doors
- Enable door opening chimes and voice announcements
- Be warned if doors are ajar when arming system
- Expand monitoring with smart locks and multi-sensors
While already reliable for most homes, SimpliSafe’s roadmap points to even smarter door awareness upcoming.
Possible future enhancements:
- Automated distinction between specific doors
- More customizable chimes and voice prompts beyond naming
- Integration with location tracking for situational alerts
- Expanded sensor fusing for identification accuracy
Conclusion
Getting clear alerts for opened exterior doors is crucial for home awareness. While SimpliSafe doesn’t automatically differentiate doors, naming entry sensors allows announcements for each door.
Just remember to manually customize each sensor and enable the announcement setting.
Testing door alerts should then confirm SimpliSafe calling out each entry point clearly.
I suggest layering additional motion and camera sensors for comprehensive monitoring.
Now you understand how SimpliSafe handles open door notifications and can configure the system appropriately for your needs.